It is often desirable for educational, cultural or other general purposes to photograph art works or other subjects. In order to get the best results such photographing has been normally performed in the controlled environment of a studio, however if the subject art work is precious, such as a painting of a great master, the transfer of the art work to the studio is invariably associated with security problems. Therefore, there is a need for a portable device which can be taken to the site of the art work itself.